Play mat for children



Dec- 20, 1955 o. PASCAL 2,727,242

PLAY MAT FOR CHILDREN Filed Feb. 24. 1954 INVENTOR. GTT@ PASCAL AXN I BY W United States Parent O PLAY MAT E oR iCHILDREN ttofPascal, Brooklyn, N. 'Y. Application February 24, 1954, serial No. 412,255 reclaim. (CL2- 69) Ihis invention ,relates tto a .mat ,adapted Vto be placed l-.lPon adioolj, whether `the door `be covered with a rug -or not, `the mat being particularly designed as a play mat for children, and being novelly ,shaped and formedin s uch `a lmanner as to provide agreatattraction for lthe .child iorchildren who are to .use `the same.

It is well ,appreciated that lin many instances, a child will tend to play ,upon the oor'at va `particular location particularly attractive to ,For example, lmany chil- -dren are accustomed 4to viewing Vtelevision programs for substantialperiods of time, and under these circumstances, ,the child lwill tend tosit upon the oor `in a l.particular location relative to `the television set.

This ,is .undesirable in `many instances, in view of the `fact 4that `the child may have with him various `playthings which, if carelessly used, may cause damage to ya rug. For example, crayons, paints, and similar possessions 4of :the child wouldvfall within this categoryfit being apparent, accordingly, that it is desirable to. provide the child with a play mat which can be spreadupon the iloor at a location found particularly suitable.

It is important, as will be appreciated, that a play mat of the type stated be made as attractive as possible to the child, to encourage use of the mat by the child.

Accordingly, `in view of the above, it is an important object of the present invention to so design a childs play -mat as to make the .mat `particularly Vattractive .to the child, zthereby .alfording notonly a .comfortable `resting 4place for the child while `viewing :a television program, but also, va protectivecovering .for ,a .rug -or oor surface.

To this end, amat formedinaccordance with the presentinvention is preferably .shaped in an.outer configura- `tion simulating .the skin of .an.animal, such as `a zebra, tiger, leopard,.etc. Further, .itis proposed to so'design the mat constituting the present invention as to permit its being reversed side for side, with the mat having one side in the simulation of the skin of a particular animal, and the other side in the simulation of the skin of a different animal.

Still further, the invention, in another embodiment thereof, may have ties which are normally concealed when the mat is spread face up upon a rug or lioor surface. Such ties, however, can be utilized whenever desired to fasten the mat to the head, arms, and legs of the child, so that the child may derive amusement from imitation of the animal represented by the design of the mat.

For further comprehensionof the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a mat ance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, detail sectional view taken substantially on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

formed in accord- Awill be found comfortable `matfor extended periods `of time. is formed with ,plastic Vor cloth .cover sheets 22, 24, which diie. y2 is a bottom planrviewsofza-modifed form :of mat formedn accordance withthe present invention.

Fis 4 is .an enlarged, `'detail :Sectional fview staken v,substantially-online 4-4.Q f.Fig. 3,. g

Fig. `5 is a sectional viewtaken lonline fS-S .of Fig. on an enlarged scale.

The `4reference numeral ,10 yhas 'been ,applied 'generally in Figs. .1 and ,z2 4to-.the play mat :constituting-the :present invention, and as shown in Fig. l, the mat is formed in an outer .configuration .approximating ithat of the askin .of an animal, as forexample-za beangleopard, orthelike. Thus,

the mat is provided Witha'wide, relatively elongated body 12 Vhaving an area sulicient to accommodate one orrnore children sitting thereupon, andis;also provided fwitharms 14, feet 16, a head 18 landaftail r1.9.

Additionally, buttons@ .can :heewed tothe :head 18 of the met, in transversely spaced relation, .to :approximate the ,eyes of the -anirnaL ,These can, ofcourse, be omitted if Adesired 'in the form of :the invention :shown :in Figs. 1 and .2.

Preferably, `.the matie .of quilted, :padded construction, so as to provide a convenient support for the child which Iwhen the ichild .sits ,upon the To this yend, the :mat

eoniine between :them arseleoted `thickness of conventional padding 26. The covering sheets and padding can ,be quilted as .at 28, toiinerease .the-.attractiveness of thefmat and `to hold :the padding in .place .without danger .of said Padding becoming lumpy :or uncomfortable in particular areas.

The ent-ire mat ,is .fboundlat `its periphery by a length of `binding 30 which isi-stitched .to ,the .edge `portions ,of the .Sheets/212, ,2.4 fby ,Stitohiug .32-

At Vthis point, rit should .be ,noted .that in ia preferred embodiment -of .the invention, the binding 3.0, .as well .as thesheets 2.2, 24 w ouldbe formed of waterproofmatenal, so as to permit rough mage of the mat `without shortening the life thereof. further., the use :of :waterproof `material permits the mat to be washed `oil? with ease, ,whenever necessary.

`It .will beappreoiated that oneof these sheets .can he provided with-,a design.intendedto simulatetheskin of ,a particular animal, while the other sheet .can be eprovided with a different desigmintended ,to ,simulate the `of another animal. 011e ,Sheet might, .for exemple. fbe de- Signed .as the vSlo'hroi avzebra, fwhileathe-oppositefsheercau be .designed ,asithe Skinofa v.efiriard In Figs. 3-5, a modified form of mat has been shown, designated generally by the reference numeral 34. In this formof the invention, the outer configuration of the mat is substantially the same as in the first form, the mat including a body 36, a head, tail, and legs. Further, so far as the basic construction of the mat is concerned, the modified form is similar to that previously described herein, that is, a pair of opposed sheets are adapted to confine between them a supply of cotton padding, with said sheets and padding being quilted and the padding being confined at the edges of the sheets by a length of suitable binding.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 3-5, however, the mat is adapted particularly for use as a covering for the child, if the child desires to imitate the animal represented by the mat.

To this end, the head and the four legs are each provided with a pair of ties which are normally buttoned under the mat in the manner shown in Fig. 3, so as to remain concealed when the mat is simply being used as a door covering on which the child can rest. Thus, the head portion is provided with a pair of ties 38, said ties having their outer ends stitched to the opposite side edges of the head by the binding of the mat. The inner ends of the ties, that is, those ends remote from the anchored or stitched ends are provided with buttonholes, to permit their being engaged by buttons 40. The buttons 40 are provided on the underside of the mat, opposite buttons 41 provided on the upper face of the rnat. lt will be understood, in this regard, that vin Figs. 3-5 the mat is shown inverted. The top surface of the mat will .not be provided with ties, and thus, when the mat is turned face up, only the buttons 41 will show, the buttons 41 simulating eyes in the same manner as the buttons 20 of the first form.

The ties 38 are preferably crossed as shown in Fig. 3, and connected to the buttons 40 when said ties are not in use.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 5, each of the legs is provided with a button 42 disposed midway between the opposite side edges of the leg in spaced relation to the outer end of the leg. The button 42 of each leg is adapted te engage the free ends of a pair of ties 44 provided upon each leg on the underside thereof.

The ties 44 are stitched at one end under the binding of the mat, by peripheral stitching 46, the binding being designated by the reference numeral 48. Each tie is, of course, provided with a buttonhole 50 at that end thereof remote from the stitched end, the buttonhole being utilized whenever the tie is to be attached to its associated button.

The buttons 42 can be provided only upon the underside of the mat, if desired, or alternatively, can oppose buttons S2 on the upper surface of the mat, the buttons 42, 52 being attached to the mat by a common securing thread 54.

As previously noted herein, the ties 44, 38 will normally remain concealed on the underside of the mat when the mat is being used as a rest by the child. When, however, the child cares to place the mat over him, the ties 38, 44 can be disengaged from their associated buttons 40, 42 respectively, after which the ties 38 can be tied about the childs head, with the head portion of the mat overlying the back of the childs head. The ties 44 on those legs of the mat nearer the head portion of the mat would be tied about the wrists of the child, while the ties 44 on the rear legs would be tied about the childs ankles. In this way, the mat will cover the child, while remaining attached to the childs head, arms, and legs, and the child can, on all fours, derive pleasure from the article by imitating the particular animal simulated by the sheet design of the top surface of the mat.

A mat formed in accordance with the invention can, of course, be manufactured at a relatively low cost, considering the attractiveness thereof and the long use to which it can be effectively put. The mat has, as an important characteristic, a construction which is intended to provide particular appeal to the child, and as will be readily understood, the child can turn up either face of the mat to blend with the story of a particular television program which he or she may be viewing.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined iu the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent A play mat for children comprising a flat four-cornered flexible padded body, said body having extending portions outwardly of its edge at its corners and having an extending portion outwardly of its edge intermediate one pair of corners, said body and extending portions defining a contour in simulation of the contour of the body of an animal when spread flatwise, said intermediate extension simulating the head of the animal, said pair of cornered extensions on both sides of the intermediate extension simulating the fore legs of the animal, the other pair of cornered extensions simulating the rear legs of the animal, a pair of spaced buttons secured to the headsimulating portion on one side of the body in simulation of the eyes of the animal, the other side of the body having a pair of spaced buttons on the head-simulating portion in alignment with the eye-simulating buttons and having a button substantially at the juncture between each leg-simulating portion and the body portion, a pair of ties fastened to the head-simulating portion, said ties having one end fastened to opposed edges of said headsimulating portion, and a pair of ties fastened to each legsimulating portion, said latter tics having one end fastened to opposed edges of each leg-simulating portion, said ties having holes in the unattached ends adapted to receive and engage the buttons on the respective head and leg simulating portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 51,303 Hincks Sept. 25, 1917 D. 62,270 Benson May 1, 1923 D. 166,150 Forest Mar. 11, 1952 1,190,084 Bates )'uly 4, 1916 2,446,006 Hendricks July 27, 1948 2,482,182 Henninger Sept. 20, 1949 2,516,598 Selkirk July 25, 1950 2,605,472 McGory Aug. 5, 1952 

